1 Day Karamea – heli rafting at its best

1 Day Karamea

“heli rafting at its best”

$500 / Adult

This is our prized one day heli-rafting trip is an unforgettable adventure. Heli rafting at its best, on the North West Coast of the South Island. This is a class 5 white water run in the Lower Gorge of the Karamea River. We fly up river in a helicopter and raft out through Kahurangi National Park. This is a full day tour. New Zealand has more helicopters per head of population than anywhere else in the world ( well so they tell us ). This enables us to access the remote, wild and scenic rivers of the north west of the South Island. …hence the creation of Heli Rafting.

Ideal to stay in Karamea township the evening before this tour. Wake up in paradise and then jump into a helicopter for a spectacular flight up the Lower Gorge of the Karamea River through the Kahurangi National Park. You need to allow the full day with us. We fly up river around 9am with Helicopter Charter Karamea to the edge of the Tasman Wilderness Area. Once up river, we get into raft training, creating us to be a well-oiled rafting team to tackle the Lower Gorges grade 5 rapids. The morning starts off easy, rafting class 3+ white water. Stopping for lunch and snacks along the way. There is a great little side walk we do up Kakapo Creek, which has some amazing water falls we can get up to and look across. After lunch is the big rapids we have been warming up for. Beautiful white water with a stunning back drop has given this river it’s ranking as one of the top 10 rivers in the world to raft. After the white water, it is a float out to our cars waiting for us at the edge of the river bank. Normally finishing here around 4pm, with a short drive to the Last Resort for a quite beer and some story telling about the day. Some choose to stay here for another night or we head off in our different directions to see more of the beautiful South Island. All gear is provided for the rafting. Wetsuits, thermal wear, boots, splash jackets, helmets and life jackets (pfds)